Turangi, New Zealand

A Town For All Seasons

We like to think that our town of Turangi is a small, undiscovered gem at the southern end of Lake Taupo.

Just 4 hours from both Auckland in the north and Wellington in the south, we are situated right in the centre of the North Island. Napier is only a 2 hour drive to the east, over one of the most scenic roads in the country and New Plymouth is the same distance to the west.

At the entrance to Tongariro National Park, Turangi has grown from a tiny fishing village to a busy hydro town, and is enjoying a resurgence in popularity as an ideal holiday location for those who want to escape from the city life and enjoy the wide open spaces, panoramic mountain views and clean, crisp air.

The name Turangi is a Maori word meaning " to stand in the sky" and, with so many majestic mountains close by, the name was well chosen. From the Lookout on the Pihanga Saddle Road above Turangi, the views of the town and Lake Taupo, surrounded by the mountains of the Kaimanawa Ranges to the east and the Hauhungaroa Range and Pureora Forest Park to the west, are spectacular.

Turangi mushroomed almost overnight from a tiny, fishing retreat on the southern tip of Lake Taupo to a town for 10,000. The town was planned in 1964 to meet the needs of the Tongariro Hydro-Electric Power Scheme, but was also designed to fulfil a role as the base for a forestry industry and the centre for newly developed farmland in the South Taupo region. Now, with a population around 5000, Turangi has matured into a "town for all seasons" with tree-lined streets ablaze with red and gold autumn colour and festooned with delicate pinks, white and reds of cherry blossoms in spring. Above the town rise the lush green skirts of graceful Mt Pihanga, 1325m, whose charm, in Maori mythology, led mountains to battle for her love.

The neighbouring Tongariro River is one of the most famed stretches of trout-fishing water in the world, luring anglers from many countries. With it's headwaters rising in the Tongariro National Park, the river provides some spectacular scenery in the upper reaches easily accessible by car. A trip to Rangipo Dam and Tree Trunk Gorge is well worth it to see the river in action. Rafting on this river is a popular adventure activity. Other good trout rivers, only a short drive away, are the Waimarino, and the Tauranga Taupo. Only a few minutes drive south of Turangi is the National Trout Centre where wild trout can be viewed through an underwater window. Special fishing days provide an opportunity for the children to learn the art of fly fishing and catch their own trout.

Nearby are the hot thermal pools at Tokaanu, part of a natural thermal area in the hillside behind Turangi, and the picturesque village of Waihi beside the Waihi waterfall can be viewed from the Ecotour boat trip which drifts through the largest freshwater Delta in the country, studying the wildlife, birds, trout, freshwater crayfish and even catfish.

As a gateway to the Tongariro National Park, Turangi is the ideal base to explore the many walking tracks around the mountains of Tongariro, Ngaruahoe and Ruapehu. There are many beautiful areas, waterfalls, valleys, ravines and mountain streams, waiting to be discovered. The skifields on Ruapehu are only an easy 40 minute drive away and provide an adventure playground in both winter and summer. In fact, Turangi is fast becoming known as the adventure capital of the North Island.